Researchers, including those from PLA Army General Hospital and General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command, developed the AI model, which can make an assessment based on images of brain functional networks.

“When a brain functions, multiple brain regions are involved, and they form a network, working together,” said Song Ming, lead researcher of the study.

Using functional MRI (fMRI), a medical imaging technique, Song and his team found typical features seen in the brain functional networks of DOC patients, which can be biomarkers to trace the level of consciousness and predict the possibility of recovery.